Riddles

Like another reviewer said, it's the same plot as Regarding Henry but with Tuvok in the title role.

When I first realised that the Neelix character would be leading the episode for long periods I did have my doubts. Much to my surprise it works well and Neelix comes across as a simple, caring soul with nothing but Tuvok's wellbeing at heart.

Nice to see Tim Russ getting the opportunity to show a bit more range than his character usually requires.

I would have done the important scene with the cake differently. They should have just done a visual rather than make Janeway explain it.

Quite a lot of sentiment between the two main protagonists which is not too heavy handed.

A fairly well made feel good episode.

Tim Russ as Tuvok does a nice performance as the overly serious Vulcan, suddenly bereft of his basic personality and being. An assault by an alien force has damaged him, and he must be retaught. He becomes childlike and joyous, but it is not him. Neelix shows great compassion, but must make a huge sacrifice. This is quite touching without being maudlin.

This is one of the best shows that you could ever see from "Star Trek: Voyager"--one that you shouldn't miss. In many ways, it reminds me of the movie "Regarding Henry" and offers some truly touching moments.

On a shuttle mission, Mr. Tuvok is attacked by a cloaked alien. The attack is so serious that Tuvok's memory is gone and he has no idea who he is. Additionally, his Vulcan persona is gone! Scared, he reaches out to the crew member who sticks with him through all this, Neelix. Soon the pair become inseparable and you see a very, very different sort of Tuvok. He smiles, he's happy and he's having fun with his new best friend. And, because he's not the ultra-logical guy, he and Neelix create a special bond. However, if Tuvok is restored, what will become of his affection for Neelix?

This is an incredibly satisfying episode. It also helps you to see that although Tuvok always seems exasperated with Neelix and wants to avoid him, perhaps there has always been some genuine affection lying deep under the surface. Exceptional and well worth your time.

That the name "Tuvix" isn't spoken in this one is a shame.

Tuvok is injured and suffers memory loss and a profound personality change. It's nice seeing Tim Russ getting to step out of Tuvok's Vulcan shoes, and he's very good here.

But it just seems the episode missed some great drama. What if Tuvok remembered when he and Neelix were merged as Tuvix? What if he missed that experience, and what if deep down he believes Janeway murdered Tuvix?

What if he unloaded all that on Janeway, that he believed she both acted ethically wrong and took something very precious from him? And what would Neelix think?

This could have been quite a bit better than them baking cookies.

And after Tuvok is (of course) healed by the end of the episode, there would be a lingering rift between Janeway and Tuvok. Did he mean it, or was he just out of his mind? Tuvok would have NEVER brought up such things before.

I have always enjoyed this fascinating episode, we explored the relationship between Neelix and Tuvok in "Rise", which in itself was a slight nod to the film "The flight of the Phoenix" with James Stewart. Which reveals that Tuvok did not have feelings for Neelix, but he had feelings against Neelix. That issue was partially delved into in that episode.

This episode explores fully the tacit, unspoken relationship between the two. In the pilot episode of the series, the first Voyager crewmember that Neelix meets is Tuvok, and from that moment Neelix had always tried to expand this relationship mostly by trying to be useful... which did not always work.

At the beginning of this episode, they are returning from an away mission, and the topic rapidly becomes conundrums and riddles.

You can say this episode begins and ends with a riddle.

A spoken riddle quickly becomes a real conundrum, as Tuvok witnesses something that he is prevented from talking about. Or prevented from talking at all.

An investigator from a nearby star system has technology that might be able to shine a visible light on this riddle, but he needs information from Tuvok in order to do that. Which is not immediately forthcoming.

As Tuvok recovers, he is able to act on his emotions for probably the first and only time ever, except for possibly what happened to him in "Meld". It was during this process that the episode reveals how he sees Neelix, and they explore this to the maximum it can be explored. The only problem is, Tuvok is apprehensive about being returned to normal. Why?

Without getting into details, we see a side of Tuvok that we normally never see in Vulcanians. In Enterprise Season 3, T'Pol's exposure to the substance "Tellium D" does something similar, but that results in a much more negative interaction between her and Tripp. In comparison, this is a lot more positive.

This is also one of the first times other than in the pilot episode that we see an alien that is not a humanoid (or pretending to be one), and that was also a refreshing change from the constant barrage of bipedal aliens.